Rosewood Heights resident Shirley Webb, 80, proudly wears four silver medals she won earlier this month at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) RAW World Championship, in Calgary, Canada. Webb will be 81 on Aug. 12.

Rosewood Heights resident Shirley Webb, 80, proudly wears four silver medals she won earlier this month at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) RAW World Championship, in Calgary, Canada. Webb will

Rosewood Heights resident Shirley Webb, 80, proudly wears four silver medals she won earlier this month at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) RAW World Championship, in Calgary, Canada. Webb will be 81 on Aug. 12.

Rosewood Heights resident Shirley Webb, 80, proudly wears four silver medals she won earlier this month at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) RAW World Championship, in Calgary, Canada. Webb will

EAST ALTON — Illinois State/U.S. weightlifting record-holder and octogenarian Shirley Webb held her own against septuagenarians at her first world competition.

The “weightlifting grandma,” as described in the book “Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Shatter Your Senses!,” won four silver medals earlier this month at International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) RAW World Championship, in Calgary, Canada, competing with more people than ever before since it included all individuals age 70 and older in one group. In state and national weightlifting competitions she has competed against individuals within five to 10 years of her own age.

“In ‘worlds,’ they don’t separate 70s and 80s. I was competing against those in their seventies, and if I’m 100 I’ll still be competing with people age 70-plus,” explained Webb, 80, who will celebrate her next birthday Aug. 12.

“A gal from St. Louis beat me out,” she said. “I wrote down on paper for my maximum goal that I wanted to lift 260 pounds; I already lifted 253 pounds in Lebanon in April. They had my final weight at 248, the same as the other girl, but since her body weight was lower than mine, she got it. But, I got four silvers, met people from all over the world and it was fun.”

Webb, who started weightlifting four years ago, usually has her personal trainer, John Wright, with her during competitions, but at the world competition trainers were forbidden from joining their student in the warm-up room. Webb is a member of Leisure World Health Club in Bethalto; Wright is with Anytime Fitness and coaches hockey, both in St. Louis.

“I’m used to him being in the warm-up room,” Webb noted.

She qualified last summer for world competition in Minsk, Belarus, a country in Eastern Europe, but due to unrest in nearby countries, she declined to attend the world competition. Thus, she finally was able to attend this year, accompanied by her family, including her husband, Dick, of 60 years. The Webbs stayed for a week, visiting the Canadian resort town of Banff.

Webb enjoys relaxing since she works out three to four times a week. She’s taken the weightlifting world by storm (and has no plans to retire from the sport any time soon), not only because of her age, but also because of her innate ability and strength. She’ll compete in two upcoming competitions over the next several months: the 2018 USA Powerlifting MidWest/Central Super Regional Championship July 15 at The Lab Gym in St. Louis and 2018 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in Spokane, Washington, in October.

“Hopefully, I’ll win there and can go to ‘worlds’ next year in Sweden,” she said to The Telegraph since her recent wins at this year’s “worlds.” “It’s just crazy for an 80 year old, but exercising really helps me. Age doesn’t matter.”

Webb wasn’t always dedicated to exercising. As she aged, prior to her 76th birthday, she struggled to get out of a chair and used a handrail to climb stairs.

“I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing,” she recalled. “My granddaughter wanted me to start exercising with her, so we could both be healthy.”

Webb first joined Club Fitness in Wood River. Upon building her workout over two years, she could deadlift 237 pounds. Also, Webb lost more than 20 pounds and 35 inches. As an adult, Webb’s main exercise consisted of yard work.

“The only exercise I did at the time was mow the lawn,” she said. “And, I was barely doing that.”

In early 2015, she became a member of USA Powerlifting so that she could compete. Wright, to whom Webb credits her success, also gives her written instruction that she follows while training with her own weights in her basement.

Not only does she enjoy competing, she also enjoys better health and motivating others.

The “media darling,” who’s nickname is “HERcules,” has always been the oldest competitor at events and she’s a fan favorite. She has appeared on multiple news shows, including “The Doctors” and St. Louis and Chicago television stations; sports shows, including on ESPN and Fox Sports; numerous publications, including National Enquirer; and, many websites. Despite skipping the worlds in Belarus, she has also made appearances in multiple countries.

More detail about Webb’s accomplishments, as well as all of the weights she successfully lifted (green cells) and failed (pink cells), can be found at http://usapl.liftingdatabase.com/lifters-view?id=24554. The default is in kilograms, but the website has a “Unit” drop down to change to pounds. This website does not include her world competition lifts.

Reach Jill Moon at 618-208-6448 and Twitter @jill_moon.

More Information

Record-holding athlete Shirley Webb’s awards:

Missouri State Champion in M4B(75-79)/84-plus kg division at Missouri State and set Missouri State records June 20, 2015

Set Illinois State records Nov. 7, 2015

Missouri State Champion in M4B(75-79)/84-plus kg division, June 4, 2016; set Illinois State and U.S. records